


The Thread

by TheFlashPoint23



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Eventual Fluff, F/F, Mentioned Bumbleby, Mild Language, Non-Explicit Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-05-15 11:29:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19294837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFlashPoint23/pseuds/TheFlashPoint23
Summary: "Ruby bit back a grunt at that smirk. If looks could kill, this was a beautiful finishing blow." And life being on the thread? Having a Professional Partner for the night doesn't sound like a bad idea... Right?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> An AU where Remnant is a normal world on its own without Monsters but some of the technology stays the same.  
> Slight OOC to fit settings, but otherwise I keep them close to their character.  
> There will be sexual content, please proceed with caution if you choose to continue.

Ruby hits the snooze button of her scroll the third time it rang, tossing to her side with a pillow over her head. She hated mornings, hated her job, hated her life and everything in it. Her apartment was small, cramped, and unkempt like a storm had accumulated in the middle over the week.

Such is life.

Unpacked boxes, the lot of them, probably what makes up half the furniture and things the studio room lacked, sat in a corner. There was no use trying to make herself comfortable in one place when chances are you'd pack and leave.

The alarm rang, a little angrily this time, in hopes to kick the redhead awake. With a tired grumble, Ruby looks at her scroll, panic bursting out like fireworks in her brain sending the message in her body to hurry the hell-o-clock. She threw her covers away, blood rushing into her head from standing too fast with a woozy, quickened stumble towards the bathroom. Her mind cursed and fumed as she tossed her clothes aside to put on her uniform of a grey shirt with the company's logo and black jeans, a red jacket to go along with her day. Brushing her teeth had never been so short-lived with a few fast strokes and a gurgling splash of water. All this while putting on her shoes, too.

Keys, she almost forgot her keys. She searches for them, the ticking of the clock pressuring her to move faster, shove away all the books from the table if you had to. Oh, it was just in the heaps of empty bottles of beer and wildly strewn papers to be thrown away since forever ago.

She skipped breakfast like she does every morning of the week. Ruby could be having a nice bowl of cereal, tasty tuna egg or ham and cheese sandwich, or at least a merciful cracker or biscuit with water to go with it; but alas, Ruby believed she was cursed, stricken with I-can't-give-a-crap syndrome and Whatever-I'm-doomed disease to give a flying shit about what she could've had for breakfast. It was like a divine being or some science voodoo had watched her mess up and decided to hear her call as Ruby managed to catch a bus before its doors could crush her. What do you know? Filled seats, a punishment to her shaking legs from running.

She jogged the remaining block and only stopped when she was inside the shop, hastily coding in her time-damn, it's way past her scheduled shift-into the computer.

"Hold it." A girl had stopped her from clocking in. Ruby turns her head. "I've checked in for you."

Ruby let out a deep breath, easing her body in a calmer stance and slinking off her jacket. "Thanks, Blake."

The Faunus puts a hand to her hip. "I can't keep doing this to you forever. If it wasn't for your sister, you'd already be in trouble."

Blake Belladonna, a part-time co-worker who saved Ruby's attendance more than the both of them can count. A brilliant student at Beacon College who is no exception to fall victim to Faunus racists, hiding her cat ears behind a bow to minimize unsolicited comments in and out of work.

"I'll try to do better," Ruby promises.

"I'm almost done completing my hours here, so you'll have to do more than try."

Ruby nods, she was definitely going to suck at doing anything  _above_  try. "Got it."

To try in this field had always struck Ruby as unnecessarily tiring. She wanted to be an Aircraft Mechanic. Going through grime and airship oil was the least of her worries as long as she loved doing her job. A Scroll Specialist is definitely not one of those jobs she particularly enjoyed doing. She despised how retail jobs such as this can be so painful to endure, only learning to appreciate employees and having a great sense of respect towards them. There were customers that's innocently too kind to be true, but then there's also the selfish, self-centered, smartass individuals that make life a living hell, a reason why the world can't have nice things.

One of those mean customers was Cardin, her arch nemesis, who happened to enter the shop with a scowl on his face that mixed with a cocky grin. How can both facial expressions of corruption blend so well in a face so punchable?

"This scroll is defective." He told her, shoving the device to Ruby's chest for the girl to catch it in her hands. "I want a new replacement pipsqueak, or I'll have a complaint about you people not doing your job."

Ruby had to hold every nerve in her body to stop herself from giving him a verbal beat down, a skill in customer service you needed to have every single waking moment of your life, no matter how unfair that person is.

"I would be glad to replace the device,  _sir_." She said, mentally biting herself to tone down the sarcasm from being obvious. "I can have this checked for you, see if there's something we can do about it just in case."

"No. I want it replaced. Now."

"Yes, I just need to get this inspected before-"

"You're wasting my time." Cardin interrupts, "for a top student at Beacon College, you don't act like one. Oh wait, I remember now. It's because you dropped out from being so poor to get a civilized education."

Now, this had cut Ruby's last string that kept her together. Screw the customer service code. Screw society. Screw Cardin Winchester.

"Ah, Cardin. So rich, yet so mentally challenged." She began, knowing that this is an equivalent to shooting herself in the foot. "You've been in Beacon for a  _long_ time. When are you evergoing to graduate from being a dick?" Ruby presses her lips together to hold back from smiling. She was so proud of herself with pulling the trigger.

Cardin's half scowl, half mocking grin, had turned into a frowning fiasco of a bull ready to use his horns. "Why you-"

"Is there a problem?" Pyrrha, a Senior Specialist of the team, had cut in between the two, capping the steam that was about to blow from Cardin.

"Your little employee of the disaster month is disrespectful and rude," Cardin says with anger in his voice.

Ruby had her mouth open to retaliate until Pyrrha stared her down that zipped herself shut. Pyrrha looks back at the customer, giving out a smile you couldn't tell was real or fake from her time of expertise.

"My apologies, sir. Please describe to me the problem of your device and I'll ensure we act upon your request for a new replacement."

Ruby was silently fuming, keeping the temptation from staring daggers at bay. Cardin describes the problem in a more detailed manner than his earlier version, clearly his agitation was reserved for Ruby. More than he wouldn't want to admit, Cardin had actually feared his former batchmate. At the memory of Cardin's humiliating show done by Pyrrha, Ruby creased back into an innocent smile and judging silver eyes at the taller man. A low growl emanated from his throat that made Ruby want to widen her smile.

When Pyrrha nudged the smaller girl and opened a palm in front of her, Ruby places the scroll on top of it, watching the expert deal with trash like a professional.

A few seconds after inspecting it, she holds two buttons at once for more than the regular time to access it. The screen brightened with the greeting in different languages of Remnant.

"You needed to hold the power and home button for at least 5-10 seconds for newly unpacked models. After that, your scroll can wake and sleep as usual." Pyrrha explained, holding up the scroll towards him.

Cardin's frown had never left him and snatched the device, glaring at the two girls. "Make sure you teach that brat a lesson." He spat before leaving the shop.

Ruby was snickering, stopping altogether when she sees her advisor cross her arms with brows raised.

"What?" Ruby asked.

Like every other day, Ruby was pointed to the backroom to be reminded of their company's code. She's heard it a thousand times. The commandment to 'Never talk back to a customer' forcefully burned into every employee's retinas.

"He's literally out there destined to bully me, how else did you want me to handle the situation?"

Pyrrha sighed. This was not the first time Ruby had been sent to the office due to her lack of self-control. "I want you to be more professional about it, Ruby. If you feel the way you did towards Cardin, all you had to do was remind him of our store policy about misbehaviors. If he continues-"

"Then he'll be banned. Yeah, I got that part." Ruby finishes.

"Then why am I here reminding you in the office?"

"Because Cardin's a dick and you hate him too."

Pyrrha shakes her head in disappointment. "You used to be sweeter about life."

There was a dip in Ruby's brow, her eyes looking down unsure if she was feeling ashamed, embarrassed or generally upset and taken aback. "Used to." She murmurs.

"Use your 15-minute break and come back with a smile."

"I'm going to need more than 15-minutes to crack one open."

"Ruby."

"Fine! Gosh."

She was out of the store and Ruby couldn't be any happier to breathe in air that wasn't smelling of boxes, scrolls (that unbelievably has their own scent too) and other people's perfume or cologne that mingled in the shop. The back alley was her favorite spot to seclude herself. If you ignore the dumpster.

Ruby didn't remember when she started smoking, much like how she couldn't recall her interest in drinking. She flicks the lighter a few times, nothing but sparks coughing up. Ruby groaned, the day was getting worse as time passed by each time something crappy happens, that crap ended up getting bigger like rolling a snowball down a hill.

"Need a light?"

Ruby looks up. Just by the sound of her voice, she was able to distinguish her sister, Yang, who had been watching her thumb flick the lighter into oblivion. Her brown denim jacket clung to her shoulders with rolled up sleeves to display an impressive streak of dragon tattoos. Apart from her hair being easy to spot by how naturally blonde it appears to be, her attire strikes as your average biker. Ruby says nothing, but nods in reply. Her cigarette is lit in a matter of seconds.

She inhales the thick white cloud before blowing it through a small hole formed at the side of her lip. It was killing her, defiling her. That was the entire point anyway. "This job sucks," she finally says, letting the cigarette sit in between her mouth and inhale occasionally when she needed, looking at the older girl through the haze of her smoke.

"I know."

"Half the customers suck too."

"Yeah."

"Customer Service sucks."

Ruby takes the cigarette in her fingers, a hand coming to scratch at her head. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Yang leans on the wall. "We have to talk about your finances."

Ruby rolls her eyes at this. "What about it?"

"It sucks."

Ruby scoffs, of course it sucks. Her life was hanging on a thread and she couldn't care less if it falls into the pit. Maybe, the pit was more inviting and caring than popping a pill prescribed by quack doctors.

Yang continues, "If you want to go back to school, you need to save your lien. Not spend them excessively on vices or unnecessary things you don't need. Having a smoke and a few drinks is fine, but you're abusing it to the point that dad and I are worried."

"I don't need your pity."

"We're concerned, Ruby. For the love of Remnant, do something about your life-"

"I don't want to be a Mechanic anymore."

This struck Yang, appearing to be confused, unsure if what she heard was coming right into her ears. "What?"

"I said, I don't want to be a Mechanic."

"What do you mean? What are you even saying?"

"You told me to do something about my life, I'm deciding that I won't pursue a dream that's dead to me." Ruby was chewing at the butt of her stick out of nervousness, one moment ago she was proud to shoot herself in the foot, but this was pointed at her head.

Yang pulls away from the wall, standing with the authority of an older sister. "Mom worked so hard to get you in the school you always wanted and you're backing out?"

Ruby throws her half-smoked cigarette away, furious at the mention of their mother. "Don't ever bring her up!"

"And why not?" Yang challenged with fists clenched. "You're wasting your life, throwing away your chances, and moping around groveling about a job you don't even like! What would mom say?"

"You're a half-sister, what do you know about  _my_  mom?"

Out of all the worst decisions she'd pick in her life, vomiting out words that hurt her sister was the absolute shittiest of them all. They came out blubbering out of her mouth and there was no way of shoving them back into her throat even if she wanted to.

Yang's stance straightened and relaxed from the tense build-up of their heated conversation, pulling her jacket taut with lilac eyes burning what's left of Ruby's dignity. "She was my mom too." She mumbled quietly. Turning on her heel to walk away, she stops, sparing a glance at Ruby. "Dad decided to cut his support for you. So start saving." She calmly says before disappearing out the alley. The sound of her motorcycle engine roared, a tire skidded and soon enough it faded away.

Ruby would cry, hit herself, sit on the ground, think about what she's done and devise a way to apologize. But she didn't. People who knew her would expect she'd act as described. That was no longer the Ruby they knew, instead, she pulled out another stick of cigarette. When the lighter refused to let her smoke in peace, she threw it at the wall that shattered from her rage-filled strength.

Work that day stretched out longer. Dull, boring, and often times disturbing. She acts like any other day, pretending to be alive, customer-driven, and robotic in her movements. Fixing scrolls in the office kept her sane from potentially mean customers from ruining her day any further, her mind actively rambling and reminiscing their conversation. Would it have been any different if Ruby was less of a prick?

 _But Yang was being a prick first_ , she reasoned.  _Yang was just concerned you twit._

It went on for the majority of her hours until shift had finally ended. She decided to take a different route going home to prolong her walk, leave her thoughts on the trails to die on its own before considering to set foot in her apartment. She needed a drink, she thought. Lots and lots of it.

Fueled with uncertainty, contempt, and depression, she entered the first club she saw. Ruby wasn't fond of alcohol, yet she downs them with a grimacing finish to her shots. It was the only way she can think to numb and forget herself.

On the bar where she sat, a man burly and big as a bear, sat beside her. "Someone's under the weather." He said, gesturing at a bartender to service him a drink.

Ruby stayed quiet, not wanting to hold a conversation during her session of being glum.

"You look like the type of person who needs a good cheering up." He continues, nodding once to the bartender in thanks. "We offer a certain service for people like you, or for people who are looking to have a good time. First timers get to redeem our discount. If ever you want to feel  _special_  for the night, consider giving us a call, and I can give you our best people." He slides a card where Ruby had been looking down at the bar. "And this is on the house, a welcoming gift." A new glass of alcohol now sits beside her empty ones.

Ruby waits for him to leave before looking well into the card, actually beginning to contemplate the idea. Ruby knew what he meant upon the emphasis of  _special_ in his words. Something to make her feel great didn't sound like a bad idea. Ruby had never thought about adventuring far beyond with the vices she's already had, perhaps she didn't have enough, or just needed a new addition to her terrible account purely out of spite. Alcohol makes you dizzy, and depending on how much and which type of drink you took, the vary of stupid can go from gullible klutz to chaotic idiot much to Ruby's chagrin. Smoking was different, an addiction to nicotine that can certainly make a child outlast you in a running competition. Even with the tobacco, what she felt in her head didn't seem enough-

" _Do something about your life!"_

-Until now.

Gulping down the welcoming gift and tipping the bartender, she takes the card and journeys back home tipsy.

She was going to do something about it, and that's to make what's left of it with someone under the sheets. Ruby was going to darken her world starting with this.

She tosses her jacket to a chair, shoving a few small boxes out of the way with her foot to make up some space for the guest. Dialing the contact number shown on the card, she sips a glass of coffee in hopes of sobering her up from being a total mess.

"Junior on the line, how may we help you?"

For some reason, Ruby's heart was going a few beats too fast, her finger and thumb rubbing against each other in anxiety that it made skin against skin emit the sound of friction. It was probably the coffee.

"Hey, yeah. You told me about the offer earlier in the bar. What have you got?"

* * *

Ruby was pacing the living room slash kitchen, slash bedroom too, the only private room with walls being the bathroom. Her walk only reaches a few paces from the crowded space. Junior had explained the redeemable discount once more by showing the card, then forwarded to the general rules and what's going to happen, and asked if Ruby was looking for a Male or Female. Her mouth had opened to commonly answer for a male, but she closes it. Society can't tell her who she can or can't sleep with. And where's the fun of it if she wasn't experiencing new things even if it's just one night?

So female it is. Why not? Life being on the thread, she wouldn't mind this kind of pit. Might as well throw her lien into something she'll be pleased from and die later. It doesn't matter how, or when.

But what if she does something wrong? What is she going to do? Should she still treat them like some kind of friend, or? Maybe this was a bad idea, a really bad idea that her drunken self-had gotten into, the 5 spoons of sugar in her coffee screaming to cancel the whole thing.

A knock on the door makes her jump she could have sworn her heart had almost leaped out of her mouth. Stumbling over, she fixes her hair, then her clothes, before gingerly turning the knob to open the door.

Ruby takes in the sight of the girl who was a few inches shorter than her. Her white alabaster hair, freely lose past her shoulders cascaded like a river filled with silver, blue ocean eyes capturing a mirth of beauty. It is intangible, and it is sharp. There was a scar that ran over her left eye, like a chip on a finely chiseled marble. She was wearing a coat held together by the knot of the ribbon.

 _Holy shit_ , she thought.  _She's hot._

"H-Hi, Junior must've sent you, W-Weiss was it?" She stuttered helplessly.

"The one and only." The girl replies with confidence in her voice, smirking.

Ruby bit back a grunt at that smirk. If looks could kill, this was a beautiful finishing blow.

"So, are you going to let me in, or should I serve the next door instead?"

Ruby snaps back into her senses and opens her door wide enough for Weiss to come in. She does so, surveying her room with judging eyes.

"Hm, a small apartment. Cramped and, dare I say, filthy." She comments, one hand under her elbow and the other on her chin, stepping further back into the room.

And for once in her life, Ruby had never felt so embarrassed let alone care about what visitors have to say about her home. "Do you do that every time you enter someone's house?" She asks as she closes the door behind her.

"On a daily basis," Weiss replied. "I've seen worse."

"Ouch," Ruby mutters, stepping a fair distance near the girl, watching her survey the area like a cat doing an unwanted surprise inspection. Her heart for the second time that night almost boomed in her chest when Weiss turned around to look at her.

"Assuming you have the card?" She asked. Ruby nods at this, showing the card in her hand. Ruby was beginning to take out the lien when Weiss stopped her, instructing Ruby to put it on the counter instead. Completing the small task, she turns around, witnessing the white-haired girl let loose the ribbon of her coat. Beneath it was the girl's clothes that accentuated her lithe form, tight and bearing skin. Her skirt was short to be eye-catching and her crop top was sleeveless held by a thin cloth of a strap, exposing those acute collar bones and perfectly toned stomach. The coat slides off her shoulders to reveal her pristine, pale shoulders and arms. Ruby could feel her knees weaken trying to comprehend all the information at once.

Ruby wasn't sure what came next even as the rules and basic information streamed in her mind. How does this thing usually go anyway? Her rambling mind came to an abrupt halt when she feels a cool finger trace the top of her shoulder down her arm, leaving goosebumps in their wake and making her face go as red as her name.

"So, what would you like me to do?" Weiss says, her voice was soft and submitting than the subtle commanding tone that laced her words earlier.

"I-I. I." Ruby was stuttering like mad again. "Uh, w-well. I don't, I don't know."

Weiss hummed in thought, taking her hand and pulling her towards the bed. "I can fix that."

Ruby is pushed to sit on the foot of the bed, watching Weiss straddle her lap with a certain, seductive grace to it. The palm of her hands touches Ruby above her chest, a slow up and down motion leaving hot trails of fire, building a burning desire in Ruby stoked by the heat between them. Weiss's hands rested at the sides of her neck, pulling their bodies close for their lips to collide onto each other.

It was just as she imagined. There was an incredible softness around them and the way their bodies pressed melted Ruby to the point of no return. Her idle hands coming to press the small of her back, holding back the urge to take over.

The kiss had shut off any function to determine what was happening in the now, deep in Weiss's spell to bother checking. When she pulled back however, it clicks in her mind that they were lead further back into the mattress with Ruby's shirt thrown somewhere to the side. This was a pleasant, if not astonishing, surprise of witchcraft.

"I'm yours for the evening. Do whatever you want to me."

Ruby shudders, that sounded more of an order that made her feel powerless, but in control all the same. Dazed and dreaming, she couldn't help but sheepishly ask, "like what?"

Weiss rolls her eyes, the smirk still on her. She takes Ruby's hands, guiding them to touch her body. A chill runs down her spine at the feel of new unmarked territory of the girl's slender frame until she was confident enough to venture on her own. She touched her there. And there, and there, and  _there_. Earning a small moan she didn't know she could elicit from the Princess.

Princess. Now that's something she'd be calling her with all that pretty white.

She is brought into a kiss again; soulful, deep, and aggressive. Something warm, and wet had licked her lip, seeking entrance. Ruby does so reluctantly, keening into the new discovery with a sweet combination of caressing those firm thighs. Weiss rolls her hips gently, the friction grating the front of her jeans that made her gasp in surprise. She feels hands traveling down her stomach, and something she knows well enough to see where it was going under the belt. Ruby stops her, holding her wrist. Her heart was now raking against her chest that she can hear them in her ears and feel them thumping in her veins.

"What's wrong?" Weiss asks, showing her concerns that Ruby actually found cute. Either she was concerned at how she was servicing her or for Ruby was up for debate.

"Nothing. It's just. This is…"

"Your first time?" Weiss finishes.

"Y-Yeah…" Ruby admits, chuckling. It wasn't  _exactly_  her first. There were kisses she's already shared with and knew where the moment was going as the… err, heat… builds. But Ruby had never gone this far. "Is it that obvious?" She says in a shy whisper.

Weiss lets out a giggle. "Dolt." She jokingly teases, her hands undoing the button of her jeans. "Then I'll make sure your experience is worthwhile."

Ruby was looking up, eyes attached to the ceiling as she permitted Weiss to do her job  _down there_. Any attempt to hold back her moans was futile, her few failed attempts coming out as a grunt. Weiss was extremely good at her job and she hates herself for actually considering to beg for more. She puts a pillow over her face to muffle her loud groans in pleasure, back arching to the climax as one hand gripped tightly into the bed sheet.

Her body resigns into the comfort of her mattress, tossing the pillow over to the side to pant for air. When Weiss had risen from her hip to wipe off the, ah, juices… from her mouth, Ruby leans in to capture her wet lips, wiping the slick away that got caught from her cheeks. With the desire to extend their session, a part of her didn't feel right to have all the pleasure taken, so what she does was to put Weiss's back to the bed this time, the switched position putting her in between the Princess's legs.

With instincts driven by emotion and the capability to learn fast, Ruby follows the rhythm of the moment, planting kisses on her cheek, then her neck before going along her chest and finally trailing them downwards, a piece of clothing coming off every time she dipped her head to the lower regions. The way she squirmed slightly under her touch, whimper into her kiss, and moans into submission is what Ruby would pay for again and again to satisfy rather than to gain

She was falling from the thread, falling into the pit.

Falling for  _her_.

Weiss had let out a pleasured cry that she was not afraid to show or let Ruby hear. She brings herself back up to kiss her in a slow denouement.

After a few make-out rounds that gradually leisured, Ruby asked.

"Can you stay tonight?"

After a few moments of catching air, Weiss replied. "I don't think that's part of my description to stay in someone's home."

If Ruby had Faunus features of a canine, she could have sworn she can hear them press against her head in sadness. Weiss sighs. "But if you insist."

The redhead perks up. "Yes! Thank you!"

Weiss nods at this, seemingly pleased at her decision.

"I know I'm asking a lot, but can I hug you?" Ruby added.

Weiss pondered at the thought before speaking. "I don't see any harm with it. You did pay to feel special. So I suppose if that makes you feel any better, then go ahead."

With a big smile, Ruby wraps her arms around her, resting her head against her chest to hear another person's heartbeat. She doesn't see it, but Weiss had blushed to the contact so simple, yet capable of spreading something sweet to make her red in a new definition.

* * *

Ruby's eyes flutter open from her sleep when she feels nothing but empty space at her side. When she sits up, her eyes widened.

The room.

It was clean.

Her room looked a little more orderly than it did yesterday. The boxes were no longer at an angled mess, beer bottles on one corner ready to be thrown when necessary, the books that were strewn haphazardly around the edges of the table were stacked, the mess of the papers that were once laying on the floor was piled neatly, too, besides the books.

She stands up in her nakedness to take a closer look. Areas that were once headache-inducing of a cluster dump was now. Nicer. A somewhat peaceful feeling radiating from the cleanliness of it all.

On the counter, she notices that the lien was taken as intended, and a note for some reason. She takes it. In neat, fancy, readable handwriting, she reads the inscribed words.

"Give us a call when you need it. Hope you like the new look."

Her heart sank into her stomach. In a good kind of way. The sort of butterfly churning and mind flying type of way.

Her scroll alarm rang, and Ruby, for the first time in a long time, had found herself awake without having to press the snooze button even once.

Going to work was a breeze. There was time to spare for a decent shower without recklessly throwing clothes at herself. In fact, she took her time sweetly, complete with getting herself a sandwich for breakfast along the way and catching the bus without the worry or fear of running late.

After Blake had checked in, Ruby does so as well right after her, a proud smile on her face as she watches the Faunus's bewildered expression. And Ruby still had time to spare.

There was a skip to her step and the way she helped customers was more lively in comparison, energetic even, eager to assist whenever possible. She hummed a tune while she worked on the scrolls, something her co-workers find rare.

Watching the girl move were Blake and Pyrrha, impressed, to say the least, at the new routine Ruby had come to work with. They complimented her, asking how the redhead had come to be so happy all of a sudden.

"Nosy aren't we?" Is all the answer they can get.

When Ruby's shift ended, she got ahead to contacting Junior as she walked the remaining block to her apartment for another service.

"Ah, Ruby." He says with excitement in his tone. "Eager for more?"

"Yup." She replies with the same excited intensity.

"Alright, let's see. We have-"

Junior went to list off names that were unfamiliar to her, some foreign, some even considered a little bit odd.

"What about Weiss?" She asked.

"Oh, she's becoming your favorite too, isn't she? I can see how you like her, she's everyone's favorite."

Ruby disliked the thought of Weiss being with 'everyone' else. She pushes it away though, informing Junior about her decision. Setting the time for later that evening, Junior tells Ruby about the cost, her one-time discounted offer already used, saying it wasn't her first time anymore. "If you know what I mean." He says with a nudge he would undoubtedly give in person. Ruby was taking a sip of her water when she choked upon hearing the full price.

"What?" She sputtered.

"Business like this is costly, our girls and guys need a salary too."

Right, customer service. She shouldn't be surprised. A girl like Weiss was special, but she'd like to think of her as more than a pay thing.

"Okay, okay. It's a deal."

With the fold of her scroll, Ruby had rushed to her apartment to get herself prepared.

A warm bath with a fresh set of clothes later, Ruby looked into her scroll about part-time jobs being offered in her vicinity, one where it wouldn't clash with her current job, circling the shops of interest and thinking to herself what it would feel like if she had worked full time not being a scroll specialist.

A familiar knock on the door chimes in and Ruby stands to answer it.

"We meet yet again," Weiss greets. "Miss me already?"

"Pshh… No." Ruby laughs nervously, the memory of last night still fresh to fluster her. "U-Um. Okay, maybe a little." She shakes her head at her own mishap and invites her in, gesturing to sit anywhere she wanted an attempt to host. Weiss decided the bed, noticing how it was folded and made than the disheveled mess it was hours and hours ago, and they didn't even begin to use it.

"The lien's on the counter," Ruby says, rubbing her hands together before wringing and clenching them. "Do you need a drink? Water, soda, alcohol maybe?"

There was that smile Weiss gave again, a smile she'd throw herself to the floor for her to step on.

"Water will do."

* * *

You'd probably expect sounds emanating from the room by now as to how things should go. But the two were talking and having a decent conversation. Like a date more than anything.

"How are you so pretty?" Ruby rhetorically manages to ask.

"I know," Weiss allows, her back straitening in perfect poise. "It's natural for me to have flawless skin and shiny hair."

"It's killing me already." Ruby jokes with a hand to her chest. Weiss seemed to like anything nice being said to her, she basked in the glory of her beauty having to affect the redhead. Weiss admits to having snarky remarks (or can be, 'difficult', as she words it) when she was made to talk. There was a Queen Bee attitude, too, that Ruby was able to pick up without needing to observe as it was taken at first glance. She never had an actual conversation that stretched as far as this, asking from time to time if this was where Ruby really wanted to go, her reply coming with a positive yeah and a grin that can melt the ice age.

"Say," Ruby mused. "I never heard your last name. Junior listed off different people with last names, but yours is just. Weiss."

"That's the only name I know I have." The girl replies, leaning back for her hands to support herself on the bed. "Or was given." She added.

"That's it?"

Weiss nods. "I don't really care about it though, it doesn't seem important. Not in this kind of job anyway."

Behind her shielded eyes, Ruby could distinguish the hurt behind them, a conflict she knows but unsure of what battle it fought. "Don't you have a family?" She prodded.

"… No." Weiss says, pursing her lips. "Not that I know of."

"Ah." Ruby voiced, noting the tension rising from the Princess's body. She decided not to press on a touchy subject and instead give her a fair share of herself.

"My full name is Ruby Rose." She began. "I have a dad… older sister… two moms." Ruby coughs.

"Two moms?" Weiss returns to look her in the eyes in curiosity.

"One passed away, the other is my step-mom."

"Oh," Weiss says, her face softening. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Ruby swishes her hand dismissively. "That was like 2 years ago. I've gotten over it."

"Do you miss her?"

Ruby went quiet, the objects around her room giving a sudden interest to examine. "Yeah." She admits, sighing before switching the topic around. "It's kind of hard to imagine your situation. I mean, who can you miss with no parents? What about siblings?"

"None. I'd prefer it that way, I'd spare them the humiliation of what I am." Weiss had unconsciously put a finger to her scar, lightly tracing the bottom of it.

"Well. I think you're special." Ruby says, putting on a grin, remembering the way her room looked after the night. "Which by the way, about this morning." She said, fidgeting. "Why'd you do it?"

"Do what?" Weiss asked, although Ruby can tell she knows exactly what she meant.

"You know, my room?" Ruby nudged on, her finger motioning the environment.

Weiss was quiet, her eyes looking to the floor in front of her. She didn't know how to voice her reasons, didn't know how to put it in a way she didn't want to sound endearing. "Why not? Looks as if it benefits you. Now that I'm here the second time, I don't feel as suffocated. I don't know how you go around with that kind of mess."

"You mean it benefits  _you_." Ruby corrects, laughing. Weiss 'hmph'ed at this with a glare not intending to hurt anyone. Ruby only smiles sweetly, no sense of mockery, or pride in those curled lips. Any customer she had serviced would've taken the opportunity to lunge at the crack of her vulnerability.

"I love the new look." She says finally. "Thank you."

Weiss is pleased, "Of course, I only offer the best." She places a hand on Ruby's lap, tracing small circles and leaning close. "You  _can_  repay me however."

This catches Ruby off guard, making her gulp. Quickly picking herself up, she catches on to the hints, reeling in closer like an attraction to the opposite side of the magnet. "In Lien?"

The hand on her lap slides into her inner thigh. "Why are you such a dunce?" She whispers.

Ruby shrugs. "I swear I'm not always like this," she answers steadily before closing the distance that was the space in between their lips. It was gentle as it was alluring. A gradual pace into a slow and passionate make-out. Like a chart, there was a rise of need and want meeting each other, that line had only increased with how their hands had brushed the surface of their skin. Want decreased and the need was all there was to liven up the session in a more heated battle to dominate one another.

Ruby had topped her in the end, her skill at pleasuring Weiss having improved since their first meeting. She lays on her side, watching the girl fully relax into the bed.

"May I?" She asked, the permission to hug hung in the air.

"Sure." Weiss murmured, already enveloped in a firm and very naked embrace.

The warmth is singular, and it is spreading.

* * *

 

The first ray of light hits Ruby's eyelids, waking up to the dew of the early morning.

The bed was empty, as she would expect, yet it manages to grow certain loneliness from the lack of Weiss being in her life. It had only been the second night of their session and Ruby was starting to feel empty the more she slept with her. Rather than feeling fulfilled with a purpose served, it only brought her more questions than answers.

Her stomach growled and only now did Ruby notice the smell of her room. It was a hunger pang inducing-scent of food. Standing up, she tracks the source to the counter. Lien taken, note present, with a covered plate beside it.

"Last night was something. Have this as thanks. P.S- You sleep heavily to notice anything. Also, consider stocking your fridge."

An arrow points towards the plate. When she opens the cover, the content was mouthwatering to Ruby. It was a nicely done egg toast.

She ate it with glee, another bright day starting ahead of her. This time around, she checked in to work before Blake could even stamp hers. When difficult customers come charging in the front door, Ruby only puts up a smile, more real than it is fake, not a single snarky comment or rude behavior affecting her and  _actually_  adhering to Pyrrha's advice of the code.

"Are you in  _love_?" Pyrrha asks, almost teasingly. Ruby's head lifts upward so fast she bumped the shelf above her from the scroll she had been fixing.

"She  _is_!" Blake declares, both of them giggling.

With a painful flinch and a hand coming to rub the bruising spot, she looks at her two friends with a frown. "No, I'm not."

 _I think I am_.

"It suits you," Pyrrha says.

"Who's the lucky person?" Blake presses on, a smug smirk plastering on both their faces.

"No one." Ruby answers.

 _I'm the lucky person_.

The two were on her tail, getting every chance to slide in the question the rest of the day it was annoyingly funny to get them this curious.

"Come on!" Pyrrha says after her when Ruby had taken her jacket to leave for home. "I'm your Advisor!"

"Bbyyyeeeee, Advisor!" She says as she walks away, taking out her scroll to call Junior.

Maybe her world doesn't have to be so dark after all.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you have yourself walking on a thread. You eventually fall from it.

Ruby lifts her cigarette, a new lighter breathing out a small flame to do her bidding which was to light the end of her stick to smoke. She was already exhaling the cloud through the holes of her nose before forgetting about one important thing.

Does Weiss smoke as well?

"Ah, damn. Sorry." She apologized, using her mouth to hold the stick while her hands find the pack in her jacket. "I should have asked if you wanted some." She is stopped however when Weiss touches her arm from taking the pack out. When she turns to look at her, Weiss takes the cigarette from her mouth, the way she held it in between her pointer and middle finger having a certain class to it.

"It's not good for you." She commented, putting the stick into her own mouth, and, after a few moments, blows the puff of streaming white cloud to her face.

Ruby finds this extremely, and frustratingly sexy. Not that she was willing to admit it… yet.

They were in the room like they always have. Ruby takes every chance she could get to spend her time with Weiss, respecting her off duty days that also spare mercy for her wallet. When Ruby had run short of her funds, Weiss was susceptible to other 'customers' that it clenches her heart bearing through the day knowing she was on someone else's bed.

In a span of time, they had grown... fond. Towards one another. The more she invited Weiss into her home, the less time they slept with each other, wanting to learn more about the girl that stayed beautiful for every night she sees her. And when the morning comes, Weiss always left her a note that she keeps hidden in between the pages of a college textbook on the table.

Tonight, Ruby had the privilege to have an arm around Weiss, her chin coming to rest atop her head. No lustful touching, no move to turn each other on. Just the intimacy of sharing each other's warmth on one bed, clothed and all.

"Do you like your job?" She asked the first thing that came to mind in an attempt to break the ice.

Weiss pulls back to meet her eyes. "Why?"

"Curious. Unless it's something you don't want to share, I'd understand."

"Do you like yours?"

"Well. No. But I have to because I need to."

"Then you have your answer."

Ruby nods in acknowledgment. "Have you considered looking for something you like?"

Weiss takes a moment to think about with a hum. “Yes," she replies.

"And? That is?"

Weiss's eyes had started to look elsewhere, her head going to a slight tilt in contemplation whether to share or not. "Singing." She finally says. When her eyes look back, silver orbs sparkled.

"Wow! You can sing? I'd love to hear it!" Ruby excitedly exclaims that Weiss had to hush her for. "You should totally go for it. I'd pay to watch your performance."

A blush creeps into Weiss's face. "I'm paid to be here; what difference will that make when you can literally have sex with me? I'm sure you'd much prefer the latter rather than hear me sing. Besides, I don't think I'm cut out to be one."

It was Ruby's turn to blush. "I think I'd enjoy spending my lien on something you love doing. If that makes you happy." She takes Weiss's hand into her own. "What if I paid you for tonight to  _ not _  have sex with me?"

"Don't be absurd."

"I'm serious." Ruby gives a little squeeze into the hold. "We can just be here. Tonight. Although I can do with a few kisses." She laughs, before stopping and going into a stutter. "Unless uh, y-you want to go home and all, I-I don't mind."

Weiss's hand was taken away from her hold to place it on Ruby's cheek as blue eyes close, feeling her mouth pressed against her own. Ruby lets out a startled gasp at the sensation of Weiss kissing her, even though she had kissed her so many times since then, she always felt like her first. It was not aggressive. It was but a simple, sweet, and wonderful kiss.

"I'd rather be here." Weiss says, sighing into it.

Ruby smiles, her hand coming to hold her hip. When the need for air surfaces, they pull back slowly, the ghost of each other's lips lingering a bit longer.

"Tell you what." Ruby begins. "The next time I get you. Wear clothes you're comfortable with."

"How come?" Weiss curiously asks. There was a grin on Ruby's face before she answered.

"Go out with me."

Weiss had a skeptical look on her, now promptly replaced with giggles and an amused smile. "Are you hiring me to go on a date with you?"

"Yeah!" Ruby beamed. "I want to leave your day offs for yourself to enjoy."

"I can't possibly accept this request."

"It'd make me feel special," Ruby says in a sing-song voice. "Come on, it'll be fun."

Weiss takes a moment to think about the idea. She has to say no. It has  _ got to be _  no. It was her job to make customers feel happy with her body and she wasn't sure if Junior would be too agreeable with the idea. But she was getting paid, right? Every service getting one step closer to freedom.

No. It wasn't right.

_ Augh _ , but those puppy eyes Ruby gave wasn't helping her case.

"Fine," Weiss says begrudgingly. Ruby closes her hand in a fist and pumps it down, mouthing a victorious 'yes!'.

"You can't keep this up forever you know." Weiss says in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Why not? I'm your customer after all." Ruby giggles.

"Really? All the time?" Weiss challenges with a smirk. She can't possibly be serious about hiring her frequently. Even that seemed a little suicidal on someone's lien.

Ruby leans forward for their foreheads to touch. "You can bet on it."

* * *

 

Before the sun could crawl from the horizon and sweep the city with its majestic rays of light, Weiss had woken up before the redhead can. Leaving had proven a little difficult in the morning as Ruby had managed to catch her by the fingers before it left the bed-half asleep-and murmured for the girl not to go. Tempting, but painfully rejects her call. Removing her hand, she plants a gentle kiss on her forehead, the slight frown the redhead had formed back into a peaceful slumber.

This was dangerous. Everything she's doing was dangerous. Accepting dubious requests from her was one thing. Harboring feelings was another.

It was restricted. A taboo in her job. One she had reclined from as far away as she possibly can before it catches a grip on her. Yet Weiss could not resist to expose herself, inviting-purposely-for the firmness of that grip to enclose her, finding no reason in wanting to return to the surface of the ocean if the depth of it felt this wonderful.

She leaves the note, like she does every morning of the night with her customer, the lien ready to be taken. There was a small voice in her head getting louder the closer her hand nears the cash of cards.

Submitting to the voice that was her consciousness, Weiss had only taken half of the payment before throwing her coat over her arms and left the premises. It was only fair.

Having to clean a client's room was not a rule, nor was it enforced by the club. It was not a necessity, a requirement or a special trick to keep customers happy to call back. Simply. Weiss had done it because she wanted to. There was something in Ruby’s silver eyes that draped with sadness, even as her outward personality clashes with the emotion that made her do what she did. 

Through her countless times with different people, Weiss could not find herself to use her. To play with the strings of her heart of giving more than she needed to. To be a professional meant to haggle, and she was damn well good at it. But not once did she try it on the redhead, and now she’s only taking half the lien?

The dark purple skies had begun to show the faintest orange frolicking to the tips of the clouds as she patiently sat on a bus stop's waiting shed. Her mind was preoccupied with her thoughts to notice a person sitting next to her. She glances once.

The person glances too, then asked. "You a friend of Ruby's?"

Her ears perked at the name, adjusting her look at the girl who had strikingly long blonde hair, a neat stroke with wild uneven, leveled curls. Her eyes were hidden behind aviator sunglasses.

"And you are?" Weiss answers back with a question.

"Yang. Ruby's sister." The blonde replies, taking off the shades to reveal lilac orbs that hid intentions unbeknownst to her. She opens her palm out, offering a handshake. Weiss hesitantly takes it. There was a strong feel to the grip that didn't match as friendly, but that could just be her mind setting off the wrong assumptions.

"Weiss." She allowed. Their hands part, eyes still locked.

"What brings you to my sister's apartment, Weiss?" Yang asks casually as if she had known the girl for a while to sound casual and, a tinge of demanding, about it.

Weiss held her poise with elegance and steel. "A little too upfront I'm afraid." She informs. "I'm not sure I should disclose any kind of information to someone I barely know."

Yang leans back into the bench. "Hm, funny you should say that." She takes out a wallet from her jeans. "Ruby doesn't get a lot of visitors. I see you coming around her often. Just concerned is all." A picture slides from the pocket, allowing Weiss to fully study the content of the candid shot held up to her. Two young children, one with golden hair tied with twin locks. The other with short, red tipped ends. They were playing, wrestling on the dirt with laughter in their faces.

"She wanted to be an Aircraft Mechanic." Yang begins, her eyes looking at the picture she had held out, caught in the moment of reminiscing the memory. There was a sad furrow of her brow as she continued. "I worry about her future, about her health, and the decisions she makes on her own. They aren't always thought out so well for her to choose wisely." Her eyes now meet Weiss's blue ones. "I know you work for Junior. I don't think he'll be happy to find out that you're falling in love with your customer."

"Excuse me?" Weiss retorted, taken aback at the accusation. Taken aback that it had been obvious.

Yang was sliding the picture back into the wallet then into the pocket of her jeans. "I'm not judging you, Weiss. But I'm going to have to ask you to stop accepting commissions from Ruby."

Weiss crossed her arms. "Who are you to tell me how to run my job?" She questions, almost harshly. "And for the record, I have no such feelings. I am very well acquainted with the rule." She added with some venom meant to lace her last words, not meaning to cover everything she said to give the wrong impression.

"Then stop sleeping with her." Yang retaliated. "Ruby barely eats, barely sleeps. Barely even earns to pay her own apartment. That lien isn't going into her pocket where it should be; and she is helplessly, stupidly, in love that she would throw herself away at someone. And that person she's in love with told me-right now-she doesn't feel the same way." She says this with frustration that matched her expression.

"I appreciate you giving her 'company', but that's what you prostitutes do. You  _ pretend _ . I know you have a debt to settle so don't think I don't know what you're after, do your business with anybody else, just not my sister."

Weiss despised, loathed, and  _ hated _  that title she called her job with every fiber of her being. The steam of the bus expelled to a stop beside the waiting shed with doors wide open. "It was nice meeting you." She says grimly before standing up and stepping into the bus, the door shutting behind her. The transportation had already lurched forward when she had taken a seat, not bothering to look at Yang to see where she went or what she was intending to do.

An unsettling feeling sat uncomfortably in her stomach. Then her face heated with anger when Yang's words played on repeat. It was not because Yang had said distasteful things about her. It was the fact that what Yang had said was true. Her job was built on a play of pretend, an act on the stage with her customers being the lead role and her, the love interest, to dress for their needs according to the script they write and form themselves. She balls her hands into fists on her lap, something wet had fallen on top of them. They were teardrops. With pursed lips, she bit back a sob, not wanting to catch anyone's attention even as the bus had only contained a few people up in their own thoughts to notice.

" _ Rule number one. Never, ever, fall for any customer. Understand?" _  He said.  _ "Business is business. Break this one rule and your required services will be extended." _

Weiss had taken advantage of her, to everybody she's slept with to have it easy, for her own gain. There was no place in her life to deserve someone as innocent and caring as Ruby. She needed to set her priorities straight.

When the bus had stopped, her walk back home had been fast. A few catcalls were thrown her way, a comment; both compliment and insult reach her ears. She didn't want them, didn't ask for it, didn't want to live with people salivating for her on the streets, the club, and every stranger's house or parked car. Her mind wanders, wanders even as she dully goes along her routine in a room given as compensation for being Junior's employee. It was decent enough but unwelcoming. It was not hers, and she was tired of living there with an exchange to work by offering her body to feel violated.

Weiss had been raised to serve the club at a young age. Her childhood had been a haze, unable to complete the pieces of puzzles that could form a memory. All she remembered was being adopted into the business, her only way of freedom needing to be paid, in full, from the number of years she had been sheltered by the club and the lien they spent keeping her,  _ training _  her. Anywhere she went, Junior's men were one step ahead of her from escaping.

Half the lien taken from Ruby's payment was going to Junior as it should be. She had never considered doing what she did in the entirety of her career. It was inconvenient, taking a step back from a goal she took a thousand steps to get halfway to where she was now for it to be held back. For what? Because she was feeling generous? Flattered?  _ Infatuated _ ?

She laid on her bed, closing her eyes in hopes to push away the torment consuming her mind. The rest of her day was being attacked relentlessly, her form of decompressing by doing small chores such as reorganizing her belongings, check on the bar status and computations, and smoking, too, something she doesn't do with the exception of being around customers to arouse their needs. It was terrible by all means and a complete hazard to her health.

Her scroll rings. Unusually early for her to be receiving calls from Junior.

"We have someone new requiring your services." He announced. "The customer's special so you should get yourself prepared, will send you the address."

"Wait." Weiss interrupts. "I don't understand. This is too soon."

"I know. I don't usually get this kind of thing either. But this is important. I owe this one a favor."

"Can I at least know the name?"

"Not necessary. Go there pronto."

"But Junior." Weiss groaned. It was  _ way _  too early.

"Now, Weiss." Junior pressed on, ending the call.

* * *

 

Bookkeeping wasn't so bad as people complained it to be. Ruby actually loved books, ever-growing fond of the hobby since her mother read to her stories as a child. That was gone now, the wonders of reading disappearing into the time that slugged forward, being a scroll specialist could do a toll in your mind to enjoy anything.

But this one was just right, between a minimum wage salary and considerate hours to render, the best part of it all? No customers coming to bite her ear off.

Taking a book from a tray, she slides it into the shelf in chronological order and right category, occasionally skimming through what she found interesting before inserting them. Her scroll sits in between her ear and shoulder as she multitasked with the books at hand.

"Hey, Junior. What's up? Is Weiss free?" She says in a low volume voice. Ruby hoped that Junior would say "Free as ever. She's all yours." It was crushed when she hears the opposite of what she wanted.

"Sorry kid, someone's got her for today." He said. "I still have the other girls you can try out. Wouldn't hurt trying new opportunities, see if one of em can treat you as well as your special lady."

Ruby grimaced, blanching at the idea. "You know what I'll say."

Junior goes on to imitate Ruby's words, his deep voice making it sound creepy and hilariously out of character, "No, thanks. Weiss is the only one for me."

"Exactly." Ruby applauds. "Is now the best time to know the name of the customer?"

"Absolutely not. No disclosing of customer information for the 10th time."

Ruby was pouting, clapping a book shut. "Augh, fiinnee." She groaned, giving up. "Well, that's it. Thanks. Will bother you till then."

"No problem. Call when you change your mind."

"Will do."

She definitely won't.

Ruby takes the scroll into her hands to tap the end button with her thumb. Her mind wandered to Weiss. Was she getting it on with a man or woman? Was he, or she, rich? Average? Crippling with bills?

"Ah shit." Ruby cursed. Bills. Sooner or later those things would pop right into her mailbox again. It would seem she has to cut down the luxury of smoking and drinking if she wanted to make the date worth remembering. Which brought her to the question, why was half the lien left on the counter?

When Ruby tries again the next day for Weiss to have that questioned answered, Junior had informed her once again that Weiss was taken.

Then the next day.

And the next.

And the next…

So on, and so forth.

Ruby flicks her lighter toward her cigarette in anxiety, swallowing as much as she could take to push down her guts from bubbling to her throat and enhance her relief stemming into her mind. She knew Weiss had a job to do with a bunch of people who knew her name for a reputation preceding her status, but the continuous streaks in her slot were getting oddly suspicious and concerning.

Maybe Weiss had lost interest in her. Maybe, someone out there was far better, better than what she can give. Has a better job, a better personality, pays more, hell maybe better at sex. She knew she wasn't good enough. Weiss was so out of her league and any thought of getting a chance with her was a fool's way of thinking.

_ Shut up _ , she tells herself. The cigarette had grown shorter in what felt like in a span of a few seconds. She quickly takes another before self-deprecation can overtake.

Junior's club lit brightly in the district. She throws the stick under her foot before walking in and looking for the man that shouldn't be hard to find for his size.

"Ruby!"

There he was with his black vest and red tie, black-gloved hands raised from his sides for a warm welcome.

"Junior." Ruby starts, giving a small smile. "I'd like to talk to you."

"Of course. Come." He gestures with his head for Ruby to follow, walking up towards the bar where they first met. He ordered the usual for the redhead while he got himself a regular bottle of beer. "On the house for our regular customer. You haven't been here in ages since I got you up on that special offer."

"I appreciate it. Thank you." Ruby quietly says, downing half of the liquor. It was cool to her lips, minty in her mouth, burning in her chest.

"So. What brings you to our humble abode?" Junior asks, sipping from his bottle.

"I wanted to ask about Weiss."

Junior had suddenly recoiled from his beer, sputtering. Ruby paid no mind and continues, "I'd like to know what's going on. I notice she hasn't been available since then. Mind giving me at least a  _ little _  insight?"

The man settles his bottle on the bar, fixing his tie as he thinks of the right words to begin with. "Well, you see. Weiss has been…. Reserved."

"Reserved?" Ruby repeats, a hold on her glass getting tighter. "I didn't know you guys do reservations! If I did I could have done that long ago."

Junior was chortling. "Oh, Ruby. Even if you did know any sooner, you wouldn't have enough lien. Such service is to be paid double and scheduled in advance."

"Oh come on, this is bullshit. I could have totally done it. Until when is she reserved?"

Junior trailed off from his laughter. He sighs, taking in a swig of his beer before answering. "I don't know. We might be looking for some time."

"Are you joking?" Ruby prays he was not. Junior shakes his head.

"Don't be too upset about this. Everything here runs on business. You aren't getting  _ too  _ attached to our girl now, are you? Should I start reminding you of the rules?"

Ruby rubs her face into her hands. "No." She mumbles aloud. That was the advice, the rule that Junior had given to her as basics. Failing to comply had already given her enough consequences to wallow in.

"Good," Junior said. "I understand how you feel. You'd cause yourself a lot of trouble. Hookers are just there to please you, not get in a relationship. It's their job to look pretty."

Somehow, that stung Ruby. The thought of their nights spent together for show was too much to bear. She takes the glass to her lips and gulped down the remaining, wanting to feel that serrated heat burning within her.

"Got some matters to attend to. Try to enjoy yourself." Junior gives a pat on her shoulder before taking off to another direction, shouting over the music that raised to the drop of the beat.

Ruby asked for another refill, intending to drown herself and swim back to the disease of not giving a shit. She thought she was done for good; all this drinking. Apparently, it had only begun to get worse.

In her peripheral vision-erm, blurry kind of peripheral vision, a color that stood out amongst the growing crowd caught her attention. It was white.

Weiss was sitting across a man's lap, his arm around her waist and hand resting on her thigh to keep her in place. She gives a small laugh, even in the music Ruby could distinguish how fake those giggles were, all of this act to please and trap her customer into her seductive trance. She leaned into him, a siren's whisper mesmerizing fantasies into his ear.

This disgusted Ruby on multiple levels she couldn't think was possible. Dropping her payment, she makes her way through the crowd, bumping, sliding, parting her way into the masses.

She calls her name. Weiss does not hear as she slides a card into his suit.

She calls her name, again. Angrily this time. Weiss presses a kiss on his cheek, pulling away from his hold and standing behind to leave trails of her hand brushing over his shoulder then his face, and left.

Ruby gets closer, shouting her name, and Weiss finally turns.

She didn't know how she managed to be in front of her so quickly, catching the wrist of the girl who wore a glaring expression at the pull, now turned to horror upon realizing who had her.

"What are you doing here?" She mumbled, trying to look away from her eyes and tugging her hand back.

Ruby wanted to hug her, wanted to gush how much she missed her company, bring her over for a cup of coffee to sober herself and talk to Weiss, anything that could reestablish a friendly connection and restart. But she was too caught up feeling upset that someone had touched Weiss exclusively.

"Do you like him?" She hissed. That's not what she wanted to say. This was not her speaking.

"What?" Weiss frowned. "Ruby, I'm doing my job."

"Oh sure, that's how it is."  _ Stop _ . "Getting all the guys and girls to throw lien at you and act like their property." She spat.

The music thumped into her ears, yet she hears a gasp of disbelief come out from Weiss's mouth. There was a glint of shock for a split second before it shimmered with anger. Weiss pulls away from her hand, forcefully this time, to return it to her sides.

"You should leave."

Ruby flinched at her tone.

"Wait, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." Ruby sputters. "It's just I didn't see you for so long and I drank a couple of glasses-" She tries to touch her arm but her hand was slapped away.

"No. Please. Just go." Weiss snapped. There was a shift in her voice, retreating into a soft and hurt tone. "You're right. What we did? Nothing but roleplay."

"Weiss-"

A man. The same man who Weiss was flirting with, cuts in. "Is this person bothering you, Weiss?"

Ruby stared him down. Her punching hand was trembling.

"No. Just an old customer I used to serve," Weiss says dryly, taking his arm to separate him and the redhead. "Let's go." She tells him.

"Wait." Ruby tries to get to her but the man had held out an arm to stop her tracks. Ruby shoves him on the chest. "Don't touch me." She warned. The man was going to get up and personal until Weiss halted his advances. The glare in her eyes returned.

Ruby grits her teeth, fists clenching tighter that her fingernails bore marks into her palm. Then she drops it, from being angry to a kicked puppy in one blink. She turns on her heel and stormed out the bar.

The man scoffs. "What's wrong with her?" When he turns to look at the girl beside him, she had her thumb and finger hold her temples, hiding her eyes. Her hand later came down to her mouth, revealing her cheeks glistening from the tears that rolled down. The man attempted to soothe her but was stopped the moment he tried so much as to say one good word. Weiss was dragging him, pulling him towards a room the club hides specifically for this night and furiously wiped her tears from her eyes. The deed was done.

Now she only needed to be distracted.

* * *

 

Ruby awakens with a start, instinctively shooting for something to hold, someone to hug. When her bedside was all but empty, the dread that had stayed to haunt her at night returned with a vengeance combined with a discombobulating headache. It had taken a solid minute for the ringing of her scroll to reach her ears. Snatching it, she presses the dismiss button and threw the device across the room. The rage had apparently stayed, recalling the events of last night.

Her eyes were heavy like anvils had clipped them to shut. It was from crying last night, she figures. The sun outside looked too bright to be considered morning. Ruby had to cling to the walls to catch her from falling, wanting to vomit every time she took a step forward. Fortunately reaching the bathroom in time, Ruby went to her knees and lurched forward to the toilet bowl, last night's liquor and whatever she had eaten before propelled from her stomach out her throat to the water. Her eyes stung and tears accumulated, her brain crying regrets and promises to never drink ever again. She flushes, keeping herself steady on the floor. Crawling into the bathtub, she turns the shower on without bothering to strip her clothes off from being wet, wanting to wash away the grime that had probably hit her face and the shame that molded her skin.

It was like her feet were made of stones, dragging her weight on the pavement while carrying her head from falling over. Had she not woken up in time before the bus stop, she could have completely missed her destination and the walk to work would be a deathly trip. Ruby was late, regardless. Her name on the time stamp missing Blake's saving grace, the Faunus had completed her rendered hours to help her from the scolding that was bound to happen.

"Where have you been?" Pyrrha chastised.

When Ruby turns to look at her advisor, Pyrrha's seriousness turned to that of worry.

"I overslept," Ruby admitted hoarsely.

Pyrrha puts a hand over her head. "You look sick."

Ruby shakes her head as she removes the hand to assure the older girl. "I'm fine."

It was like watching the plague in her body calibrating together to form a mess, traversing from point to point in sluggish movements that it was a pity to witness. She dozed off occasionally, waking every minute- startled. The hungover lingered that she grimaced in pain every time it pumped the veins in her head from exploding. The tip of her tool prodded over the tiny screws in a stumbled approach, unable to hit its target. Out of frustration, Ruby tossed it aside that it clattered on the table, burying her face into her hands from exhaustion. She jumped in her seat when Pyrrha laid a hand on her shoulder.

"You should take a day off." She suggested. "Actually, take a week."

"I'm fine," Ruby repeated.

"Ruby. Go home." It was an order.

Ruby sighed, closing her eyes and tried to relax her body, the breath of air only making her nauseated. She nodded. Without saying a word, she took her jacket and signed out.

The strain in her body worsened that it begged to catch wind every minute or two. Scolding herself for throwing the scroll earlier, she mustered the strength to visit the bookshop nearby her home and informed the owner of her leave.

The next few days were a blur, to Ruby it felt like a decade had already passed even as her clock had looked like it jumped a few numbers. The only time she had eaten is when her stomach felt like peeling from the inside out, consuming small quantities of bread and biscuit as long as they existed in one of her cupboards. When the thoughts of the night had come to haunt her, Ruby smoked as her safe harbor, concentrating on inhaling the tobacco to soothe her aches.

The mess returned in her room after days of neglect. The ashtray was filled to the brim, piles, and piles of paper blowing off to the floor, and beer bottles accumulated, breaking the truce of her mind that ignored the warnings of getting a potential hangover again.

There was a knock on her door. Ruby made no move to answer it or ask who it was, sitting on the floor and resting her back against the board of her bed, hoping whoever that was to turn the other direction so that she could brood in peace.

Another knock came accompanied by the call of her name. It was Yang.

"Go away," Ruby groaned.

"Come on, sis. Open up." The blonde pleads, drumming a finger on the door.

"No."

"Then I'm coming in." Yang insisted. There was a gritting sound of a key being inserted as the doorknob shook and twisted. Of course her sister had a spare key to her apartment. For emergency, she says. The entrance swung open with the blonde standing in the doorway. Upon stepping in, she hears a crunch beneath her boots. Ruby threw that bottle earlier in extreme irritation, whatever had consumed her thoughts had acted out in her body. Yang walks over to her, making a place to sit beside her little sister and brushing away the strands of hair that covered her face before giving a one arm hug.

Tears fell silently from clouded silver eyes. The arm that draped over her shoulders squeezed her close, and in resignation, Ruby leans into the embrace seeking the comfort she needed.

"Are you going to tell me to get a grip in life? Because I'm still working on it." Ruby sniffled.

"I can tell," Yang replies. "Pyrrha told me about you. I wanted to come as soon as I heard but thought of giving you space from the way she described your condition. I shouldn't have done that."

Ruby wipes at her eyes with the palm of her hand, muttering. "You didn't have to come at all. I'm doing just fine."

"You say that a lot for someone who looks like hell."

Ruby only scoffs but says nothing to deny the fact.

"Wanna talk about it?" Yang asked.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

Yang could feel the tremble in Ruby's body fighting the urge to spill the story of her state. "I think I lost someone I cared about. Happy?" Ruby finally says.

Yang blinked twice in succession. "I…" She began shakily. "Um… mind if I ask how it happened?"

Ruby sighs. "She… I… I liked her. I really,  _ really _ , liked her. She made me happy and for a long time, I felt like myself in her company. She would always write these sweet notes every time I wake up in the morning and occasionally leaves some food she makes on the counter. No one does that to me. I mean. Who cleans up a total stranger's room after having just met? I felt like I was going somewhere in life. But I screwed up." She puts her face into her hands, her fingers gripping into her hair. "I said dumb shit I didn't mean. She looked really hurt. But whatever, she's doing herself a favor. No one wants to be with someone cheap like me."

Yang pursed her lips. Ruby had never shared stories about the girl she tried hard to separate her sister from. Weiss was… innocent.

Yang brings Ruby for a tighter hug. "You're not cheap, Ruby."

They stayed a while in silence, until Yang pulls away, holding her shoulders. "Hey, wanna get some food? I know a place."

That brought some life into Ruby, a smile forming. "Yeah."

Yang helps her to her feet, a slight wobble here and there.

"Oh, and, Yang?" Ruby spoke.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry about what I said- back in the alley."

Yang gives her little sister a smile. Ruby may have said unwanted things, but there was no way she could ever hold a grudge against someone she promised to protect and keep safe.

* * *

 

It took time, but eventually, with some supervision and care of her older sister, Ruby was able to cope step by step. She returned to work, keeping her part-time job in the line realizing how much she was able to accumulate and save, giving her more than enough to pay the bills despite being a little late about it. Her mornings reverted to being dull, catching herself looking beside the bed out of habit to find someone. Moving on has always been difficult, right from the start. She needed something,  _ someone  _ to replace. So she takes out her fixed scroll and waited for the other line to answer.

"Ruby! How's it going, pal? I haven't heard from you."

"It's a long story," Ruby said, keeping her tone light and cheery. "So… about your services."

"Ah, Weiss? Still not available I'm afraid."

"Not her." Ruby dismisses quickly, the sound of her name bringing barbed wires wrapping around her heart. "Surprise me with what you've got."

* * *

 

Even with thick blankets draped over her naked body, the bed felt cold and alien. Weiss stared at the ceiling above her rather than the person who was sleeping at her side, naked, too, much to her dismay. It was a male Faunus with a fox's tail, the fur slightly tickling her skin. If there was anyone who liked to be serviced as much, it was the law enforcement. Cops like this one will always strike as odd to her.

Sleep did not come easy despite accepting a few drinks before the session.

It was another night, like any normal on-duty nights, with a customer shoving their tongue down her throat, almost tearing away at her clothes like an actual animal, hands groping and grabbing with no care. It was far from enjoyable, merely uncomfortable at best. There was no reason to stay any longer than she has to. Cautiously moving away from the mattress to avoid the bedsprings from jumping the customer awake, she finds herself searching for her clothes that have been thrown carelessly to the floor. It was an inconvenience to search piece by piece, groaning quietly when the thread on her blouse had gone lose from the chaos.

'Call again when you're thirsty for more, officer.'

She cringed at the words she wrote onto the note. Leaving messages was her signature, a bait to lure customers into hiring her again. She almost wanted to tear and crumple it away really, finding her trick to be cheap and on its own self-deprecating. It was no doubt going to ensnare this man and boost his ego. She considered the idea of throwing it away. But stops. Holding back was far enough. If she wanted to get out of this position, she was going to have to endure a lot more. Receiving the payment by leaving it on the counter was a method she wanted to move on from, taking it right before anything could start. She walks out of the house, thrusting her into the open night air and exposed stars.

God how she missed feeling like she mattered. Someone who'd look forward to seeing her without the expectation of giving away her body. She missed the kisses that last to be sweet and loving, missed the hands that delicately holds her like she was fragile, missed the conversations that would go on for hours and the comfortable silence that came with it when all the topics burned through. There was honestly a lot she missed that enumerating them couldn't do it justice.

Weiss hated that girl for giving something- a lot of things -to miss, impeding her goal's progress when she did. The loneliness only doubled when the presence of these memories flashes, especially when the nature of them were entirely good and heartwarming.

The interior of the bus provided her a shield from the cool wind that breezed outside, putting her head against the glass window to ease herself into a nap. When she opens her eyes before a dream could form, the bus had come across a familiar street.

"Augh," she quietly moans to herself. Weiss had been trying to avoid this street in fear of walking up to her. She knew the redhead enough to predict how the scenario would play, most likely awkward, clumsy, and very apologetic.

_ Maybe that's how it goes,  _ she thought. There was a chance that it would turn into an argument, one she can't bear to handle without shouting first. Seeing her storm out like that was bound to make an angry exchange happen.

Weiss kept herself away if she knew what was best for both of them.

The bus stops beside the waiting shed where she had met the blonde, opening its doors to board incoming passengers.

Her heart was beating. Even in this distance, she can somehow feel her presence nearby like some sort of bond.

The doors close with a puff.

_ Maybe. _

_ Just, maybe. _

"Wait!" She exclaims, standing from her seat and moving across the straight line of the transport's hall towards the driver. "I'm stopping here."

Weiss had to grip onto a seat to stop her from jerking forward as the bus halted to her request. She was off the vehicle in a second and started on her way to the redhead's apartment.

_ Maybe it wouldn't hurt to see Ruby one more time. _

* * *

 

Melanie Malachite. That was her name. Ruby didn't have to wait for a knock to open the door as soon as those heels clicked nearby, taking her hand to invite the girl inside her home.

She didn't have a coat like Weiss, coming in with her attire of a green tinted white dress- her appearance aiming to please. The eyeliner was at a sharp angle that gave her face a lift of charm.

There was still time to turn this around, Ruby thought. Time to really think about this.

Her consciousness to think rationally sank far behind her cortex when Ruby had daringly dived into a kiss. Not having to think about anything was the reason for having Melanie as a company. She didn't care where it took her, where it was leading up to. Alcohol was there to make her numb. Wasted. But whatever this is, it gave her pleasure without the pain waiting at her doorstep in the morning. And she was certain that this time she would not repeat her mistake.

Without breaking the kiss, Melanie had lead Ruby towards the bed, making the redhead fall on top of her. One of Ruby's hand rested at her hip, the other cradling her head like a pillow. As the tension rose, Melanie's arms wrapped her closer, slowly grinding her hips towards hers. And that's when she thought of Weiss. The thought of their kiss when her lips are against hers, their bodies melting into each other, her first and only  _ real  _ connection she felt with a spark. Nothing about this incited the same fizz of electricity she had hoped to recreate.

Ruby separates herself from Melanie, her hands pushing from the bed.

"Why are we stopping?" The girl questioned.

"I…" Ruby sits aside, turning her back against Melanie. "Sorry. Just caught up in…. stuff."

Melanie brought her hands around Ruby. "How can I lighten you up?" The light brush of her fingertips on her stomach was delicate, but not the kind of delicate Ruby wanted. She breaks away from her, standing up from the bed.

"We're done for the night," Ruby declared, smiling weakly, her hand offered to be taken for Melanie. The girl takes it incredulously and was lead to the door, receiving the payment in full even if the session was cut short. "Thank you, really. If anyone asks just make up whatever story you can come up with, just nothing too freaky or anything." She laughs.

"Alright cutie." Melanie winks at her. "You know who to call when you're ready to go all the way."

Ruby nods. "You know I will." She lied, closing the door as she left.

Alone. Again. Feeling all too disgusted at herself for letting herself go like this. She sighs in relief, retreating back into her room.

Weiss was making her way down the corridor when she had bumped into her co-worker upon turning the corner.

"Melanie?" Weiss asks, scanning the person.

"Ice Queen!" Melanie says excitedly to which Weiss grimaced. "What are you doing here? Didn't you have someone to get busy with?"

"Short-lived and boring," Weiss replied with arms crossed. "You?"

"Short-lived, but actually kind of nice, I have to admit." Melanie looks up like she was able to view her trance in picture. "Weiss, you devil. Why didn't you tell me she was really cute?"

Weiss cocked her head to the side. "I'm sorry, who?"

Melanie smirked in amusement. "Oh, you know who I'm talking about. You always codenamed her Red. The one who always hires you. Now I know exactly who you're talking about."

"Oh." Something in Weiss's heart sank. There was a slump in her shoulders, but quickly regains her posture from being caught. "How was it?" Why did she even ask that question?

Melanie was back in her thought process, a finger on her chin. "It was… Hm, how do I say this? Fast, yet amazing. I'm paid in full, and that's what matters." She pokes Weiss on the nose. "Which reminds me,  _ why _  are you here?"

The girl in white frowned, which Melanie had gotten used to whenever someone touches Weiss no matter how small it was. In truth, however, Weiss was frowning because Ruby had been…  _ busy _ .

"Just came to check on you." She lied through gritted teeth. "Junior called, see how you managed after your work."

Melanie blanched. "Always so worried about the quality of our services. He should relax."

"Agreed. We'll talk on the way back." Weiss says, already on her way out of the building. To think Ruby was different.

How inconceivable.

* * *

 

Ruby sat at the edge of her bed, cigarette in hand and the other on her head where her elbow rested on her lap. She regretted her decisions, but unsure which she felt most regretful for. Was it being unable to go through the session? Or the fact she had her hands and mouth on another woman?

Standing from her bed, she walks over to the table, still filled with books that sat there waiting to be picked up. College textbooks, engine manuals, more college textbooks. They were meant for her to study, to read through when she was all excited to learn more about the passion she desired. Then she remembers how life had become ridiculously unfair to her.

To her mother.

The mention of her name had the books shoved across the table with her hand to the floor, all clattering and folding in their impact, grasping the edges of the table as the memory of her last breath replayed, then her lost years in education, then losing Weiss. A frustrated inhale of her cigarette later and a calming mind, she glances at the mess she made. Ruby shook her head, definitely disappointed at the clutter she added to her trash of a room just because her mother came into her head for a shitload of bad memories to stream right after.

She bent to take them two at a time, placing them back on the table in uneven stacks. There was a piece of paper jutting out from one of them that Ruby stopped momentarily to open the book.

They were Weiss's notes.

It pained her to remember them. Even without reading, the words that stood out like drawings had melded into her head so well she can read them in a glance. She takes them out, tossing it on the counter. Taking the cigarette from her mouth, she proceeded to crush the tip of the burning end on top of the paper, the hole it created burning outwards to curl and fade into black. She watched it until its last remains tore and fizzled into ash, washed out like paint in the water.

She didn't need to replace.

She needed to forget.

 


	3. Chapter 3

A steady hum of her motorcycle engine revved, snarling beneath its rider as Yang gear shifted. Her fingers wrapped around the handles tightly when the odd, contorting feeling in her gut knotted a new rope of guilt, fueled by the growing weeks that passed by after seeing her sister in an awful state. It never left her, the voices in her head growing loud as each day passes by that her beloved motorcycle, Bumblebee, could not drown them away.

Reserving Weiss was a foul move. Keeping her away like that struck low compared to Ruby's past insults, old and new.

She asked herself. Asked mom, rather, wherever she was in the realm of existence, about what she can do about the situation. Was it best to let it be until Ruby eventually heals on her own? Or should she try and do something about it, knowing the outcome would most likely get her young sister in a fit?

When no answer came, she had confided in Blake when the pressure of keeping it in had grown exponentially worse.

Speaking of realms, they do work mysteriously, and somehow her mother, although silly as it may seem, had been with Blake to tell her exactly what she needed to do.

Easing the speed into a slow stop beside the sidewalk, Yang parked her vehicle near the club, kicking the stand for it to perch leisurely when she returns. Junior’s club brought memories of the last time she entered it. Hm, entered is too casual. She _barged_ in, that's the word for it. He panicked when he saw her and when guards were given orders to keep her out, the newbies had themselves chucked from the club by her truly. The older, well-known guards knew better than to cross their former leader's path or dare interrupt her business with the owner. "How would I know you had a sister!" Junior yelped.

Yang had learned about Ruby's love interest then. Weiss owed them her years of service, most of the lien being handed over for the club’s prosperity, like a blood pact. She had mentioned how their operation was 'illegally' weird, to which Junior quipped about it being business as usual. Typical, given how things are being run on the district.

The afternoon had rolled by and the club held a few customers for a casual drink. Some guards cowered upon her arrival and Yang liked the respect, something she earned in those hard, unruly years if it meant supporting her family. On the bar where she sat and waited, she sips her vodka tonic while eyeing her environment. It was quiet at this time, though give or take tonight, like most nights, could get rowdy and aggressive. Depending on how organized and well provided Junior's men are, the club did admit to favoring Yang's expertise. Fights were settled, bottles were intact, tables still stood, and the floors were clean from violence when she worked.

“What do you want this time, blondie?” Junior was not happy to see her, his brow in a forever furrow whenever she appeared inside the club.

Yang sets her glass on the bar, turning her body towards him. “Weiss.” She answers, crossing her leg over the other that provided power in her posture.

“In what way?” He snapped.

“Her address.”

“I don’t hold that kind of information, even if I did, any bribe or bone breaking is not as worse as being whipped by my boss.”

Junior may have owned the club, but he too had limitations when it came to the girls that his superior held.

“Then her customer’s address.”

“No.”

“It’s not a question.” She was not leaving without knowing her whereabouts, the least he could do was mention a location. No name, no other reasons. Just where.

“Yang, you have to be reasonable. That’s breaching contracts. I’ve already given you enough favors, considering how you thrashed my men to do their jobs right.” Junior gripped into the bar, the last sentence being a grumble. “ _Again_.”

“I made a mistake, alright?” Yang admitted sourly. “And why wouldn’t I defend myself when you sent them to gang up on me, honestly?”

He ignored the rhetorical question. “What makes this favor so special for me to risk my position? Hm?”

“Just do this one last time and I’ll be out of… whatever is left of your hair. Customer’s address, that’s all.”

Junior glared, snarling under his breath. "Will you promise me that this is the last favor you'll ever ask? Ever?"

Yang smiles wryly.

With a lot more convincing, Junior finally caved into her request. It was one of the last favors she spent, a one-time information that she has to use wisely.

“Wait. Before you leave.” Junior glances at the clock. “Her customer wanted her over in… Hm. An hour?”

“What?!” Yang exclaims. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Getting to Ruby would take 15 minutes, 10 if she was breaking the rules and asking for a death wish on the road. The address Junior provided was a far off residential area, Bumblebee wouldn’t be able to pass through.

"It slipped my mind," Junior says casually. Yang was already running out of the club before Junior could finish his sentence.

With a slam of the ignition, Yang raced against time. Her plan was mapped out perfectly in her head, how she can get Ruby to talk with Weiss before she can service another creep, make her layout the apology and possibly tell Ruby how sorry she was _after_. It looks like she was going to have to improvise.

The bike skidded to a stop near Ruby’s workplace, walking through the double glass doors of the shop.

“Yang?” Ruby, bewildered, looked away from the customer she was servicing. “What are you-” Yang was already pulling Ruby towards the exit.

“Just borrowing Ruby, will be back in a bit!” She says over to Pyrrha, giving her a look of urgency to stop her from trying to question her intentions.

Making sure they were out of earshot, Yang starts hurriedly. “Ruby, I know who Weiss’s next customer is. We’ll have to move if we want to catch her before some dude does and-”

Ruby was raising her hands at her. “Woah, woah. Hold on. How did you know her name? Her occupation?” She eyes her suspiciously.

Oh _shit._ She should have just carried her sister to the bike. "I… Uh... Well. I just want you to know that I'm sorry and I regret everything that I did. I really thought it was the best decision as your older sister but it wasn't and I should have talked to you-.”

''Yang. What did you do?" Ruby interrupts. Demanding.

She gives an exasperated sigh. “We don’t have the time!”

“I’m not moving until you tell me. Now.”

Yang caved. “Okay, fine. It was me. I talked to her from staying away from you and reserved her.”

“You slept with her?!” Ruby shouted. Yang had to hush her. She sees a blur of movement from Ruby’s side, her quick instincts side stepping away from a punch that whizzed past her cheek.

“I did not! Listen to me!” She ducks from another blow. “She technically had a paid vacation leave!” She stops a fist from coming in contact with her nose. “A one-time negotiation and the rest is literally up to her if she wanted to work extra. I only talked to her. Gosh, Ruby, I’m in a relationship with Blake.”

Ruby stops, her hands still clenched into fists. “You are?” She asked skeptically.

“Yes!” Yang answers.

“Congratulations.”

“Thank-“

Ruby kicks her in the shin, the pain shooting through her leg that she hopped on one foot.

“It doesn’t mean I shouldn’t kick your ass!”

“Okay, okay! I deserve that. But hear me out.” Yang limped, with a hand held out in case Ruby tried to go on another onslaught. Her client scheduled the time in about like- thirty minutes or something, we can’t wait until your shift ends.”

It didn’t take Ruby any more convincing for her to rush into the shop, grabbing her jacket.

“Ruby, where are you going?” Pyrrha demanded. “Your shift isn’t over yet and we have customers rolling in!”

“I’ll make up for the lost hours.”

“Ruby, you're going to get yourself fired.” Pyrrha pleaded. ‘When you walk out that door, I can’t save you.”

Ruby only grins, coming up to the older girl and giving her a hug. “Thanks for watching over me. I’ll work something out. And you were right. I _am_ in love.” She dashed through the doors, hopping into the motorcycle with Yang.

* * *

“You’re very pretty.” He stated.

“Yes.” Weiss agreed, picking at her nails. Of course she is. She wouldn’t be here to do her job if she wasn’t, dumb boy.  If she counted the same compliments given to her, she’d pay off her debt in a huge amount of sum. But things don’t work that way now, doesn’t it?

He was tall, broad, the type to turn on your back if given the chance. Overly confident and boisterous, flexing on his achievements and the lien he receives on a daily basis. If Weiss was good at one thing, it was tuning out her mind from boring stories such as his. All squabbles, no substance.

“Let’s take this to the bedroom, shall we?”

“Huh? I mean, yes. We can.”

Her hand was taken, leading her to the final stages of her duty.

Meanwhile…

Yang’s bike skidded to the side, unable to approach the gates leading inwards to the private sector of the village. “My vehicle isn’t registered to go through those guys. You have to run from here. You know where to go.”

Ruby nodded, beginning her sprint on the sidewalk.

Weiss was being caressed, his face on the side of her cheek, whispering dirty things that Weiss had to hold any form of disgusted looks-whether in comment or expression-back with a mighty reign.

Just keep pretending, she tells herself, bringing a hand to his sides, triggering the male dominance to overtake and pin her wrists to the mattress, putting open-mouthed kisses on her neck.

* * *

 

Ruby is breathless, hands on her knees to catch some air, muttering about cutting her smoking habit in half when she gets through this. She turned a sharp right towards the corners, leaping over a construction bar blocking her way. She has to keep running; on moving, ignoring the cry in her feet to stop.

This was it. It has got to be it. She moves across the front yard, her body throwing against the door before knocking on it frantically. From using her knuckles, it turned into a fist bumping on the wood.

The door swings open.

“Can we help you?” An old man in his late forties and a woman at the same range, possibly his wife-peered at the redhead, perplexed. Ruby’s eyebrows raised. She stepped farther back to look at the plated address of the house. This was not it.

Weiss had to bite back any form of sound that tries to escape from her mouth as he used his hands to start exploring, coming up to undress her. She wished this whole thing would go by quickly, pop in a pill to numb herself from the ache she was about to feel in between her legs when it begins. She bites her lip, swallowing the lump in her throat to keep herself from crying as he unbuckled his belt. It’s all about the lien, she says in her head. For freedom.

A loud knock halted his operation, glancing back over his shoulder. He shrugged. “It’ll go away.” There was a grin on his face when he dips down in an attempt to catch her mouth with his, but Weiss turns away when the knock was getting louder with the doorbell coming into play.

“You should check on it.” She insisted.

“Come on, baby. You’ll just have to keep quiet, they’ll think the house is empty.” He says, grinding his covered crotch against her, a startled gasp slipping through Weiss’s mouth.

He would have continued if not for the door being slammed, like a full-on duffel bag shoving against it. "Weiss!" Someone was calling her name.

“The hell.” The man groaned, getting off the bed. A wave of relief washes over Weiss when the weight on top of her moved away. Her name was called again and she swears she knew that voice.

“Ruby?” She muttered.

The redhead threw herself against it repeatedly, the screws on the doors starting to tremble at her impact. “Weiss!” She shouts again. Ruby wasn’t going to stop until she sees her. Stepping away from the porch, down the 3 blocked stairs, and across the walkway of the house, she hopped a little, wringing her hands. Worrying about doing this legally didn’t bother her, not today.

She runs, picking up the pace towards the door, and going in for a mighty shove with her shoulder at the forefront, the door had swung open at the same time, and Ruby, with full force of a jackhammer’s strength, knocked the wind out of a man to the ground. She hissed in pain, picking herself up, the world for a split second was a dizzying spin until she laid her eyes beneath her. And wow is she pissed.

“Cardin?” She growled.

She hears steps coming down from the stairs. When she looks up, all her anger had evaporated into the ether. Weiss was standing there, still beautiful, still glowing in all her grace and elegance. She also looked disheveled. Ruby kicks herself from the ground, climbing the block of stairs with two strides at a time until she was one block shorter, making their eyes meet at just the right level. No matter the situation, Ruby found herself lost in those blue, mesmerizing orbs, the warmth spreading from her chest and rising to her face. “Hi.”

In her thinking of maybes and what ifs, Weiss never expected this kind of scenario, catching her off guard for words to process properly. What’s going to happen now?

“Ruby… What. What are you…” Weiss began. “You shouldn’t be here.”

The redhead only smiled, the kind of smile that could set her heart on fire. Her body went to a moment of shock when Ruby embraced her.

“I missed you. So, _so_ much.” She whispers into her ear. “I don’t care what I’ll do, whatever it takes, I’m going to work day and night to get you out from that debt.”

“How did you know about that?” Weiss asked, her hands coming to clutch the jacket on Ruby’s back.

"Yang," Ruby answers, pulling back to look at her without breaking the embrace. "I'm getting you out of here."

“You know I can't go with you. You should be out there being a Mechanic, not spending your time trying to pay off _my_ debt.” Weiss said. Then she remembers the night Ruby had been sleeping with her co-worker. With a glare and a frustrated grunt, she hissed. “And you spent the night with Melanie? Are you serious?” She gives a push against Ruby’s chest, but the redhead did not budge.

“Oh. That.” Ruby sheepishly says. “I actually didn’t go through with it. You sort of, ruined it before we even got there.” She gives a little laugh.

“Ruby Rose, this is no laughing matter! And are you honestly blaming _me_?”

"Yes," Ruby answered with the sureness in her tone. "I didn't go through with it because I realized it was wrong. If I wanted to wake up in the morning next to someone, I want that someone to be you."

Weiss had her mouth open to speak but closed it. Then opened again when she thought she knew what to say, but only a series of "I… I. You. How." Came out.

Ruby holds her cheek into her hand, delicately brushing her fingers along her pristine skin, a thumb tracing the bottom of her scar. "Being a Mechanic can wait." She tells her softly before planting a gentle kiss on her lips. It was there again, the kiss that separates all the other kisses. The kiss that mattered. Weiss would've happily reciprocated if not for Cardin's groan back to consciousness separating them.

There was a frown on Ruby’s face, a side that Weiss witnessed once, if a snarl, a growl, and other murderous sounds had a face, this was it. And if she was doing this because of her concern over her, then that, was extremely, and frustratingly sexy.

Not that she was going to admit it… soon.

“Did he hurt you?” She questioned, her hand coming to take hers. Weiss shakes her head.

“Just highly irked and disgusted. I’ll need to have a shower.”

They made their way down the stairs, passing Cardin.

“You don’t just barge into my home and take her away like nothing happened!” He said, standing from the ground with a wobble. “Well I’ll be damned, if it isn’t Ruby Rose, the ever so valiant home wrecker.”

Ruby ignored him, focusing on the exit with Weiss in tow.

Cardin scoffed. “Whatever, she’s just a whore. You’re only screwing with damaged goods.”

There was a pull from Ruby’s hand being emptied when Weiss turns sharply to slap Cardin across the face.

The slap was hard for Cardin's head to stagger him backward.

“Don’t you _ever_ call me that.” Weiss hissed venomously.

“Why you- ” before he could even raise a hand at her, Ruby had stepped in front of Weiss and punched him square in the nose. He falls again, clutching his nose as blood streamed down.

"Try again and I'll put another right in your eye," Ruby warned, the nails on her fingers clutching hard against her palm in a white knuckle grip.

“You bitch!” Cardin cursed loudly, pointing an accusing finger at Ruby. “You’ll pay for this.”

Weiss takes her coat from the peg she hanged near the door, taking out the lien that was given to her. “Here.” She tosses the payment, the falling cards scattering to his writhing form. “Spend it on something useful.”

They left him there to fend for whatever first aid he could think off, with Ruby letting Weiss exit the door first.

They walked towards the outside of the division, staying quiet after a while for them to make sure Cardin’s house was far away.

“I’m still sorry. About what I said that night.” Ruby spoke, kicking a pebble. “I never meant to hurt you that way.” She chances a glance at the girl.

"I know you didn't mean it," Weiss says. "But you understand… why I had to push you away like that. Even though what you said did sting."

“Yeah… I do. I promise to make up for it.” Ruby scratches at her head, a grimacing frown forming on her features. “I’m so going to kick Yang’s ass.”

* * *

Weiss did expect some form of conflict. It was either thrown out verbally, perhaps physically from Ruby's personality, or a passive-aggressive act of war. She was astonished when Yang chortled as Ruby told the story about Cardin's demise. "Oh my god, I'd pay so much lien to see that!"

"I know right? I've been wanting to do that since the first year."

“You sure showed him,” Yang praises her as she inspects her scroll, wincing at the clock. “I’m going to be so late for my date.”

“You should go.” Ruby pushes. “Say hi to Blake for me, would you?”

"You know I will." Yang steps into the ignition for Bumblebee to vroom voraciously, a pleasant rumble of engines to her ears. “Sure you guys will be alright on the way home?”

Ruby only smiles, wrapping an arm around Weiss’s waist to bring her close. “We got it from here.”

The sisters bumped their fist together. Ruby may not have her ass mounted on the wall, not yet really, but she knew that she had to make up for the hefty mistake she’s done to both of them. Yang nods once at the white-haired girl. "Weiss." She says, offering her hand.

“Yang.” Weiss nods in return, taking her hand for a handshake without hesitation, no malicious intent in either of their grip. “Thank you.”

Yang grinned from ear to ear. “No. Thank _you_.” Yang winks at her before turning on the throttle, her motorcycle circling around the other way and speeding towards the road. They watched her get smaller and smaller until she is but a speck on the asphalt pavement.

“Are you sure about your decision about this, Ruby?” Weiss asked.

Ruby didn’t have to guess what she meant, the answer already going out her mouth before she even thought of it. “Positively.”

“I still don’t think this is right. I don’t know how we can make this work or when I should-“

Ruby lightly squeezes her closer that their body touched to face each other. “Weiss. I meant what I said before totally smashing that guy’s nose.” She chuckles, falling ever so slowly from the smile that Weiss gave back. “I’m going to help you get out of that job, and find you the one you deserve. Singing right?”

Weiss's shoulders raise from the flutter in her chest sinking into her stomach. "You remembered." She says, resting a hand on the taller girl's shoulder to play with the hoodie of her jacket. "After all this time."

"Of course," Ruby said cheerily. "Which by the way, you owe me that date, Princess. And a song." 

“Princess? Is that what you’re going to call me?”

Ruby only giggles, leaning for their forehead to touch as she deeply gazes into the eyes of sapphire blue. “I love you.”

Did she hear that right? Yang had mentioned it before, but hearing it from Ruby felt surreal. Weiss had slept with people as a job with a record of flirting and touching clients as a skill, taking advantage of a situation in order to gain lien and rob them of their hopes. And yet, Ruby was capable of feeling such a thing?

She had never dreamed, let alone hope for a situation such as this to come in her life. There have been suitors out there to get her, but the rule always held her back, her hate towards herself always biting for every man, or woman, who would go so far as to bribe, threaten or beg in exchange for enslaving her body. Their arms caged her, but Ruby's did not.

Her vision had started to cloud around the rims of her eyes. “We haven’t gone on a proper date yet and you already love me?” She asked skeptically, laughing, making the tears fall when she did.

“Oh no. Too soon?” Ruby asked, concerned, immediately using her thumbs to catch the drops on her cheeks. “I’m sorry, I should have said it at a different time.”

Ruby would’ve rambled on if Weiss hadn’t put up a finger to hush the redhead.

“I love you too.” She interrupts, bringing Ruby closer. “Ever since you opened that door.”

She kisses her, finally sealing their fate as one.

Together they fell; in a pit that was beautiful.

And Ruby would set a new thread, if that means she can fall for her over, and over again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thus I have finally completed the 3 chapter story. Now they are all together as one and I can consider this as completed. There will be an epilogue, but the release of it is undetermined. 
> 
> I apologize for the long wait for this particular part, it went through serious re-reads and re-write because I was not contended like, at all, because I sense the flair of my style went blarged and I could've made better sentences or have better plots. I decided to put it up because it was taking far too long and it wouldn't be fair to you guys. I planned to put the epilogue together, hence the extended wait time, but yeah, had to change my mind. Still hope you enjoyed the story. This is the first WhiteRose Fanfiction that I have completed in my life, ahhh. This AU is so cliche, gotta admit, but... It's WhiteRose hahaha. Wrote for the feels anyway. Just had to!  
> On another note thank you for taking your time to be here up to this point. A special thank you to those who have commented from the previous chapters, I want you to know that I appreciate every one of you and it makes me happy to hear what you think. And thank you, to the last and not the least, my friend, rmbananas (in Tumblr) who was the first audience to my story and supported me all through out.
> 
> That'll be all for now.  
> Reviews are welcome!

**Author's Note:**

> From Fanfiction, it is now in Ao3, yay! 
> 
> Went to my hometown where internet didn't exist so I took time to write these out for fun, so yes it's completed, just not published here yet. Did some research and I know there are things that could be added or otherwise changed based on the occupation, but lol I don't have the time for that anymore. Hope it's still worth the read regardless.
> 
> Gotta add that in order to really write this out (because internet problems at the time), I had to try doing what Ruby did here (and future chapters). Which was smoke at least once imao.
> 
> Reviews would be awesome. (My lungs would be happy).


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